When will I learn?
 

Attended the "Vettes at the Port" entrants choice show this weekend at Cape Canaveral. A lot of you know how I keep my '86 and it has won it's share of judged shows but Cape Kennedy Corvette Club had some really neat trophies (wooden shuttles) and I thought maybe a second or third place? Great weather, good turn out and quite a few friends there. I was the first one there and as my competition pulled in, I looked them over. Not much competition, I thought until "he" pulled in. Raised his hood and chrome city popped out!!! Should be in Custom class, but no Custom class! Well, there goes 1st. place. "Baby" has 208/k miles on her and should receive some sympathy votes? Awards time and we didn't even get a third!!! Lunch was good tho............

That's it, no more peoples choice, entrants choice; only judged from now on. I don't care if Playboy bunnies are the trophy..... no more! :banghead:

Kap got a third!

pres, 'bout time you adopted my philosophy..............
"I've got a completely stock 2000, and the only reason I enter judged shows is to get a really great parking space." I spend my time looking at all of the cars there, and leave with as many trophies as I had when I went there.............none! On the plus side, you can't beat Florida for car show sites! There are some really great locations that have top shelf shows and it's always a pleasure to attend and see friends again. At least thats my 2 cents worth. Gotta admit that one of those trophies/awards would be a really cool addition to anyones display case though.......... Congrats to Ken on his win!
Andy

Andy,

You said everything I was about to say:thumbsup::thumbsup:

When I went (I'll ride again!) I go for friends, food, view:dancer01:

Congrats KAP:thumbsup:

You took the words right from my keyboard.

Competitive drive
 

I understand where y'all are coming from but having been in sales for over 40 years I have that "drive" to close the sale! It carries over in my Corvette venue also. Somebody somewhere once said, "if you don't set out to win, why enter?" I am of that mind-set. Of course I love being around my friends and the settings but I want to win! But that's OK, Star doesn't get it either.............:shrug01:

Your words...my exact sentiments...I stay away from peoples choice unless the venue is unique...too much vote rigging...I too have stock 2005 cpe and I do not spend half of my yearly salary on special polishes, rags, sprays, gizmos, etc...all my stuff is bought at local shops...the cheaper the better...like you Prez, I go there to win first and socialize at the same time but the competition comes first...it payed off last year when I placed 18 out of 20 times...:thumbsup:

Yeah............BUT.............a "win" for you isn't the same as a "win" for me. I never expect to get a trophy. I'm the proud owner of just 1 of a couple hundred thousand C5's built, and I know that there are others out there that are "better" than mine and are more qualified to get a trophy. My "win" comes in driving (or caravaning) to the show site, seeing all of the great cars that have been entered, and renewing acquaintences with people that I probably haven't seen since the same show the previous year. I check out who's done what to their car since the last time, who has gotten a newer car to replace the old one, who has added another car to the stable, and take the opportunity to sit down with friends and enjoy some of the local cuisine. It's like "family reunion time" except that different members of the "family" show up at different events. Then I get to drive that great non-winning Vette back home with a smile on my face. I bought a Vette to drive, and not a show car, so I don't enter these events expecting to win. Hell, ask anyone, they'll tell you that if I ever won a trophy I would be asking where the mistake was made and who REALLY won the trophy. You, on the other hand, feel as though your Vette is in a condition to compete in events and win, so your "win" runs along those lines. Two different philosophies, and both are correct for the given circumstances. It seems like there is a fine line that you have to walk to make your car stand out without making it appear "gaudy" or "over the top", and since the judging is done by people (and is subjective) the fine line has a natural tendency to move according to the person doing the judging. One judge's "this is a great looking car" might be another's "way too much for me". OK time to step down off of the soap box. Enjoy your Vette (s), and eventually the trophies will come.
Andy :wavey:

I'll go with Andy on this .:D

If I'm go'n to Show,I'm go'n to Win! :thumbsup:
:D
I've never shown my vette's though!!:shrug01:

I guess I'm still in total agreement with Andy here.

Everyone has thier own reason(s) for attending a show.

I go for the comaraderie, the food, atmosphere, and the ride. I go if it benefits a childrens or veterans charity (first and foremost), or another charity close to my heart.

But, I've never owned a "show car" and probably never will.

My next vette will be a "toy", something to play with on the weekends and when the weathers good:thumbsup:Not a DD and not a show piece (I don't have a garage anymore!)

That said, I've been to a TON of shows, and I never expect to win. I'm happy they even let me in the gate at some of them:lmao:

My "competitve spirit" doesn't manifest itself in my cars. I save it for business, training, fighting, teaching, things like that...and funnel it for better performance.

When I'm hanging around my car buds, I'm "chillin'" and enjoyin' life:dancer01:, checkin' out the rides I can't afford and enjoying the scenery (yeah, all of it:D).

Talk about some f**ked up stuff....I went to a Bradenton show a few years back, simply because it was a fundraiser for children.

Took the 87 (those that had seen it understand that part alone), didn't clean it prior to arrival, and when I got there, just locked the doors and walked away. Went to Hooters and had spent time with friends, enjoyed the food, and just had a great time looking at the cars.

Came out for the presentations....just wanted to support those that won...and damn if they didn't announce my name!!:eek:

I'm like WTF? :shrug01:

What just happened? I don't know?

Go figure?

But that one plaque means more to me than any of the Ronnie Setzer crap I ever got over the years....and it was totally unplanned.....:thumbsup:

If you're competitive, then by all means, compete! Get in it to win it!
But don't let it consume you and cost friendships an cause heartaches as I've seen in past cases:(

Enjoy it and just remember...it's a car show, not a life support system:D:thumbsup:

I attended two shows last weekend as a spectator. There were some great rare cars at both shows. I told a friend that it drives me nuts to see brand new cars, with no modifications, in the shows. If I want to see a new Mustang, Corvette, or Camaro, I'll go to the showroom. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me to see them entered in car shows. Well... You might know it, a 2010 Camaro won People's Choice at one of the show. Unless it's an actual Transformer, it ain't gettin' my vote. :rolleyes:

They should ban new cars until they are 1 year old at car shows...I have see too many cars with dealer window stickers on them showing at car shows and actually winning...

:lmao::lmao:I know. You should have seen the Z06 and ZR1's scooping up the trophies when they were new???:rolleyes:

Now, take that 2010 Camaro, drop it, throw some real tires on it, paint it, stripe it, do some freakin' thing to it, and then enter the damn thing!

Now I might vote for it:thumbsup:

It's always important to remember that their are ALWAYS folks out there with more time or more money to make their car superior to our cars. It has always been that way and will always be.

Trophies are nice (but I have to dust them too) but friends are nicer.

The location was great, the drinks were just right, the drive over and back was sweet and the weather was beautiful.

With the above having been said maybe that's a bit of a clue as to why I don't do many shows.:yesnod:

I have done a few mods on my '06 and went to a few shows.

I was killing myself washing, wiping, shining, etc. one or two days before the show. Then I tried to miss every drop of water or speck of dust on the way there.

When I got to the show, more wiping and shining. It got to be a job.

I then realized that the changes I made to my car were for me to enjoy and not for others to judge. Everyone has their own taste on what should or shouldn't be done to a car, and that is the way it should be.

I still go to shows but it is like Andy and Shadow said, to look at what others have done to their cars, see friends, eat and enjoy the surroundings.

I have won two trophies. A second place (was beaten by a brand new Z06, no mods) and made it up by winning a first place at another show (no other cars in my class). :lmao::lmao:

Lou,

You nailed it too:thumbsup:

I used to work my ass off at the show, trying to clean and whatever, so it'd look "presentable."

Then I realized...why?:shrug01:

I was working instead of:

eating _____
drinking _____
gabbing _____
looking _____
(pic one).

realized I was missing all the fun:(

From now on, regardless of the car or the show....I ain't preppin' anything over a hand wash and chrome polish.:D

Now this sort of attitude just really doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Do you think that the owner of that brand new Corvette might be just as excited about their new car, and as proud of it as you are about yours? And that perhaps they would like to rub elbows with other Corvette owners, no matter WHAT year the other people might have? That they are proud of their new acquisition and want to show it off, just like YOU want to show off yours?

So you would deny them that fun and excitement of a Corvette show and tell? Deny them that access to the comradeship of fellow Corvette owners? Why, pray tell? What's the justification for treating them like some sort of outcast just because their car is new? :banghead:

Rich,
Just so you'll understand, I'm talking about open shows with different categories of cars. At those, I prefer older cars. That's just me. For things like you're talking about, I prefer an all Corvette event.
When I lived in Savannah, we started an annual event called the "Gathering". I was president of the club at that time and I was not thrilled with competitive car shows and the like. As an example, we had a club in town that was primarily Rodders. They had a show every year and club members judged the cars. Guess what? Their members always won the trophies and the visitors went home without. That bothered me that a club could be that selfish, so for our Corvette event, we came up with a unique (At the time) idea. We wanted this to be an event that visitors would really enjoy. We had classes of Corvettes that were judged and we had a people's choice award, along with an award that our major sponsor picked as his personal favorite. The rest of the event was primarily tours of the Savannah area led by a local club member and a big picnic afterwords. Pretty much all of our members participated in the show, and our club members judged the categories. The only rule...... NO ONE from our club was eligible for a trophy. Those were for our guests. We didn't tell our out of town guests that, but some probably were suspicious when their love bug covered car beat out our pristine local cars, because we had not had to drive through rain and bugs to get to the show. It was a lot of fun and great memories.
With all of that said, my opinion is there's a time and place for all of our cars, and that's the way I prefer to enjoy them. To make a long story longer... To each his own.:thumbsup:

Word!:thumbsup:

I don't have a problem with a new car entering. But unless it's been modded, or it's in a "New Car" class, I don't think they should necessarily win over an older ride that has been taken care of.

Then again, in reality, DILLIGAF?

I still go for the booze, broads, cars, comaraderie and location:thumbsup::lmao:

But if it is a PEOPLE'S CHOICE, and the PEOPLE choose the newer car, well, what exactly is unfair about that? That was THEIR choice.....

I didn't say it was "unfair":NoNo:

I said:
It's just my opinion.

It's a car show, and anyone who fits the bill, should have the right to enter. And peoples taste certainly can not be accounted for:lmao:

But IMHO-if we're going to have off the showroom, stock new cars, they should have thier own category! There's no way, a car that's actually driven and has been for over a year, is going to look or smell as fresh as a showroom stocker right off the floor.

If the "people" want to pick a stocker off the showroom as a thier winner, then so be it. Like I said, there's no accounting for taste.
I think my statement was geared more toward a judged show.:thumbsup:

Certainly agree with Shadow. I use to have a Superbird. Almost every local show that I entered, my car and a friend's 68 Hemi Coronet R/T won first and second in our Mopar category. Sometimes I was first, sometimes he was. Anyway, if someone,at the time, had brought out a new K-Car and it won the Mopar category, I would have been frustrated.

I actually stopped at the Ford dealer yesterday just to admire a GT500 they had on the lot. Should have brought one of my old trophies for them. I'm just glad it was that greyish blue color with no stripes or I might have brought it home. I do like those things.